The Republican journal., 1887-07-21
The Woman's Column.

Miss Mary Curran. of Bloomsbury Pa. won
the gold medal oratory prize in the Junior con-
test, June 30.
Mrs. Margaret Cook Harper, of New York,
wife of Fletcher Harper. founded and support
ed the Seaside Home for working girls in that
city.
Miss Kate Ryan, of Brooklyn, y. y, has
patented a filling attachment for hOt-water
rubber bags. so that they can be filled without
scalding the hands.
Mrs. Harriet j.. Mavi>, of Buringamc, Kan.
has taken patent for a board designed to
hold shirt while its front and back are being
ironcd.
Miss Annie Thomas. of Billings. Mon. con
ducts G,OoO-acrc ranch, looks after valuable
timber property. and has an interest in two
paying mines near Butte City.
Woman suffrage is vindicatcd by the fact
that. while steadily the sphere of woman has
been broadening, admission g ven her into new
fields. occupations and trusts, yet in no single
instance has she failed to show herself equal
to the task. Hon. John ID. Long.
Mrs. Bessie White lIagar, of Louisville, Ky..
has compelled the State OF Board of Pharmacy
to grant her a certificate to dispense medicines
as chemist. Although she had pharmacists
diploma. the Board refused to examine her, but
have now been compelled to do so by the courts
WIDOWS RIGHTS IN MAINE. Many citizens
Of Maine. men and women, last winter petit
toned the Legislature to submit an amendment
to the Constitution of that State so that wo-
men may vote on the same terms men. This
the legislators refused to do. But they did
amend the laws 50 that widow may live nine
ty days i'll the house of her deceased husband
without paying rent. The text of the amend
ment is rs follows:
"A widow shall have her reasonable susie
nance out of her husbands estate for ninety
days after his death. and may remain in the
house for ninety days without being charseabIe
with rent therefor
Maine and Massachusetts were formerly
united, and the old law of Massachusetts gave
widows only forty days to live in the house of
the deceased. Probably the old law in Maine
also gave the widow only forty days. In Massa-
chu>etts this was the case, even when the house
was built by money which belonged to the wife
before her marriage, and it must have been so
IN Maine. The personal property Of the wife.
hy the marriage, became the property of the
husband. and the house built with that money
was the husbands house. His widow could
stay in it forty days
The question arises. We're the Maine legiSla-
tors afraid to submit an amendment so that
women may vote, lest they should deal with
widowers a> Maine men have now dealt with
widows?
Here is the catechism of it:
GLOW long may widower in Maine live
in the family house after his wife's death:
A.-As long he pleascs.
GLOW long may widow live in the fami-
ly house after the death of her husband!
A.-She may remain ninety .lavs without
paying rent.
Q.-May Maine women help to make the
laws?
A.-Tbey shall not.
How sorry and ashamed Maine will one tlay
be of this treatment of its widows. 1t comes
in great degree from the fact that the part
the wife takes in the family is counted as worth
nothing, because it has no money value, or it is
not paid for in money. 1t is regarded as gift
when the Maine law gives widow .'rcasonabIe
sustenance." 1t is generosity to let her live
''ninety days without remit" Shut this widow
came to the house a young wife, She spent all
her days in the service of the family; she has
been mother and nurse of the children; she has
been cook. laundress, chamber maid, seam
stress, parlOr-maid, waitress, hostess, and maid
of all work. A majority of wives do all these
things. Time passes, and, when she is sixty or
seventy years of age, the man of the house
dies, and his widow can stay ninety DAYS in the
house without paying rent. Or she NAV he
mother of Young children; i'm that case she
needs the whole property Gust as the father
would have dOne) to enable her to shelter am.
feed the family; but, al the same, the law will
turn her out after ninety days. Such legisa.
ton shows how each class needs the power to
protect ITSELF LUCY STONE,